The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) begins to require anyone applying for the Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) exam must have a masters degree in addition to the requirement of already being a registered nurse (RN).

This will increase the separation between Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs), who can only attend out-of-hospital births, and CNMs, who can attend in-hospital births in addition to out-of-hospital births at home and in birth centers.

Non-nurse midwives operating outside of the hospital system often face charges in the case of a poor birth outcome. This is true even as study after study proves that births with home-based midwives are no more risky or dangerous than hospital-based midwives.

The new requirement will contribute to the criminalization of home birth professional midwives and birth workers.